The Ripple Effect Of Just One Mistake

What happens when I have made a mistake? What is the impact? Who will suffer from the consequences? To answer this question, we need to consider a few scenarios.

Scenario 1: If I was just representing myself and made a mistake of mismanaging my money, then my mistake would impact on me only

Scenario 2: If I was the head of my family and made a mistake of mismanaging the family’s finance, then my mistake would impact both my family and myself.

Scenario 3: If I was the head of a company and made a mistake of mismanaging the company, then it would close down. As a result, investors lost their money and workers lost their jobs. The impact of my mistake would be on the investors, workers, our families and myself.

Scenario 4: If I was the president of a country and made a mistake of mismanaging the country, then the economy would went into recession. As a result, jobs were lost and families could not be fed. The impact of my mistake would be on all the citizens of the country.

Do you recognize the pattern? The impact of my mistake was dependent on the role that I was playing. The more powerful my role was, the greater the impact of my mistake.

Another thing to note is that as we grow older, we usually take up a greater role. The impact of a mistake will be greater.

For example, you are your parents’ child so you have a role as a son/daughter. If you are already married, you will play the role of someone’s spouse. If you have kids, you will play the role of a parent. If you have grandchildren, you will play the role of a grandparent. As you can see, as you grow older, you play more important roles.

Similarly, this is also true at work. At first you play the role of a worker. After a few years, you get promoted and play the role of a supervisor. After another few years, you get promoted to manager and play the role of a manager and so on.

Though making mistake is essential for learning, it is important that we do not end up with a habit of carelessly making mistakes. If not, more people would suffer due to the greater role that we are playing as we grow.

The idea that I will like to share with you: Do not be carelessly making mistakes!